For the biggest chunk of my first 30 odd years on earth, I was a perfectionist. Perfectionism insinuated itself in my mental and emotional life without my conscious knowledge. It felt like the safest thing to pursue when the world around me was scary, unfair or uncertain. It felt like the ‘proper’ answer when teachers, then later employers, asked me what I thought my ‘biggest weakness’ was. In fact, this constant chasing of perfection was highly toxic. But there are ways to let go of the self-abusing habit…
